My perfect weekend: Michael Flatley

Dancer Michael Flatley spends his perfect weekend on the beach in Barbados.

Sun, sea and off-duty celebrities: Sandy Bay, above, and time with his family are all Michael Flatley needs for his ideal weekendPhoto: EDDIE MULHOLLAND

Interview by Christopher Middleton

4:00PM BST 15 Sep 2011

It’s Friday night, we’ve just arrived at our beach house in Barbados, and as soon as I get there, I’m running straight into the sea. It’s a journey of no more than 20 feet across the sand and into the water.

The house is not that big, to tell the truth. In Ireland, we live in a castle, but our place in Barbados is really a glorified wooden cabin. That said, it’s on a beautiful part of the coast, called Gibbs Beach, and there are no hotels, no public places in sight.

After a long flight, all of us — me, my wife Niamh and our son Michael, 4 — all suffer from a bit of jet lag. There’s no escaping it. Then again, I was reading the other day about this flight you might be able to take in the future, whereby the plane takes off, goes straight into orbit, and you could be in New Zealand, say, in eight minutes.

It struck me that if you had a little bit of extra money, that would be well worth doing. If you could be in another part of the world in a matter of minutes, it would change the face of real estate beyond all recognition.

I’ve always rather liked the idea of space travel, though I’m not that enchanted by the idea of these plane journeys where you go up in the sky, and then it plunges down and you get to experience weightlessness at the same time as feeling extremely nauseous. If I want to be violently sick, I can just go to my local pub.

Back to our Barbados weekend: once I’ve had a dip, I’ll wash myself down, and Niamh and I will sit on the front porch and pour ourselves a Malibu and pineapple, a stiff one, too. Then we’ll sit and wait for the Green Flash, which my son Mikey just loves; well, we all do, really. It doesn’t happen every night, but if you get a really good, clear sunset on Barbados, there’s this sudden, luminous green flash in the sky just before the sun vanishes.

My wife will make us dinner and then, come Michael’s bedtime, I’ll read him a story – he loves Thomas the Tank Engine, and any books to do with dinosaurs. Most nights on Barbados, someone is having a bit of a dinner party, but as this is our first night, we’ll turn in early. I’m a much better sleeper now than I used to be, and I sleep better in Barbados than anywhere else.

Next morning, I’ll get up early and head up to Sandy Lane for a round of golf. I only took up the sport three years ago, but I’ve got a marvellous coach, Bob Torrance, who’s coached Padraig Harrington and who, everyone says, made his son Sam the cleanest hitter of a ball in the entire sport.

My current handicap is 14, which is all right, but on a bad day, there’s no limit to how many strokes I take to get around. But I love being out on the course at Sandy Lane; the air is terrific and the view out over the sea, well, it’s breathtaking.

Back at the house, lunch will be ready. We have a wonderful woman called Lindi, who is from Africa, who has been with me for years, and is a terrific cook. She lives with us in Castlehyde (our place in Ireland), and she knows my favourite Barbados meal, which is fresh fish served up with lots of hot Bajan sauce. I’m quite a one for the hot sauce, but I’m only allowed it in Barbados, because it does put the weight on you.

Later in the afternoon, we’ll all go out on the beach, and first little Michael will kick and fight when Niamh tries to put the sun cream on him, after which she’ll come at me with the white, creamy hands, and I’ll do the same.

Although I make a fuss, I’m all too aware of the need for sun cream. A few years ago, someone saw me on a television show and remarked upon this big, brown spot on the side of my face, saying that I ought to get it checked out. I’d been putting it off for a long time, but I

took the advice, and it’s as well I did. It turned out to be a melanoma, and the specialist said that if I’d left it another six weeks, it would have been too late. So while I’m too thick to quit sunbathing altogether, I do now put the cream on like I’m told.

We have to work hard to convince Michael to come into the water; he’s getting better, but he doesn’t like it as much as our Jacuzzi afterwards. He’ll keep me and Niamh in there for a while, after which we’ll sit out, have a glass of something and then go over to a friend’s for dinner. There are always people we know who are on the island: John Magnier (the Irish racehorse owner), Ian Woosnam and Paul McGinley (golfers). Once a year, we’ll throw a beach party at our place, invite them and Cliff Richard and Cilla Black, and get Paul Edwards, from Nishi Restaurant in Holetown, to bring over a mountain of sushi.

Towards the end of the evening there’s often singing, but when it comes to getting on the dance floor, that’s not for me. I never, ever dance unless I’m on stage.

So, come Sunday morning in Barbados, the jet lag will be gone. I’ll get up at the break of day, make myself an espresso and go out onto the seashore, where there’s only me and the fishermen. I’ll buy some beautiful fresh fish, take it back to the house, and then my wife will join me for a long walk, while Miss Lindi cooks up the perfect breakfast: fresh fish, scrambled eggs, scalloped potatoes, my hot sauce and some Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.

Next, it’ll take a little while for Niamh and Michael to get ready to go to Mass. It’s strange, really; I’m not the type of person who goes to Mass often, but I do in Barbados. There’s this tiny church with windows looking out over the sea, and a beautiful mixture of people in the congregation: Irish, British and locals.

Afterwards, it’s a champagne brunch at Sandy Lane, but I’ll slip away for another quick nine holes of golf; I really do love being out there in the fresh air, with no mobile phone. That, for me, is the definition of the richest man in the world: someone who can’t be reached on a mobile.

After my golf, it’ll be straight back in the sea, at which point, Niamh might bring out some cold beers, and we’ll all stand waist deep in the water, chatting to whoever’s around.

Then, dinner at the Cliff Restaurant: Sunday night at the Cliff is for the people who really

know the place, whereas Saturday is more a stand-and-stare occasion. I’ll have a couple of limoncellos with the chef there, Paul Owens,

we’ll have a few laughs with whoever’s around, tell a few lies about how the golf went, and then our driver will take us back to our beach house.

All very relaxed, all very friendly. Which is what I love about being in Barbados, that feeling of being off-duty. And so does everyone else. On that island, I’m not a dancer, Ian Woosnam’s not a golfer, Cliff Richard’s not a singer. We’re all just ourselves. It’s another world.

In short

What’s your favourite meal?

My wife’s spaghetti bolognese. She’s a strict vegetarian, and the day I knew she really loved me was when I found her grilling me a steak; she was wearing plastic gloves, so she didn’t have to touch it, but she was cooking it!

What are you reading?

A translation of Cicero’s notes to his son (De Officiis). I love books about the Roman Empire

What music do you listen to?

Reggae in Barbados, Charles Aznavour in France, The Chieftains in Ireland, Frank Sinatra at my brother’s house in Chicago

What’s your favourite view?

From our house at Villefranche-sur-mer. On a clear day you can see St Tropez, Cap d’Antibes, the Bay of Nice, St Jean Cap Ferrat, and, about 10 times a year, Corsica

Has being a father changed you?

I like to think it’s made me a better man; I’m the world’s worst when it comes to patience

My favourite things Playing golf An English muffin slathered in butter, with a good cup of tea Good red wine: Château Latour 1982 20-year-old Midleton Irish whiskey Playing on the beach with my son Drinking the good wine today; God knows what tomorrow will bring

The film of Michael Flatley’s 2011 European Tour, Lord of the Dance, is now out on DVD (£19.99) and Blu-ray (£24.99). A 3D Blu-ray version comes out on November 21 (£25.99). Julian Fellowes (last week’s My Perfect Weekend) will speak for World Monuments Fund at the Royal Geographical Society on 29th September at 7pm. To book, go to www.wmf.org.uk or call 020 7730 5344.